In medical radiography, although there are several kinds of radiographic elements that have been optimized for specific exam types in orthopedic imaging, they have not come into common usage by radiologists because most radiologists prefer to use a single kind of radiographic element for all orthopedic exam types, even though that single kind of radiographic element may be optimized for only one orthopedic exam type. Orthopedic exam types include, for example, Extremity Imaging, Imaging of the Knees and Shoulders and Imaging of the Lateral Cervical Spine. Stocking several radiographic elements for the various exam types in orthopedic imaging results in greater expense for storage and increased chances that the technicians will err and use the incorrect radiographic element for a particular exam type. When many different kinds of radiographic elements are stocked, the technicians may be required to load the radiographic elements into the cassettes by hand in a darkroom, which can be inconvenient and further increase the chances of error by the technicians.
Many kinds of the radiographic elements used for orthopedic imaging do not record useful images of the surrounding flesh when they record bones, because the contrast levels of the radiographic elements are too high to provide exposure latitude sufficient to capture both bone and the surrounding flesh in a single image. As a result, the surrounding flesh is imaged too darkly and as such is barely perceptible under standard light box illumination. Other radiographic elements used for orthopedic imaging use films with lower contrast to better image the surrounding soft tissue of interest. As a result, however, bone detail is compromised.
There is a need for a radiographic system that can record optimum images of bones and useful images of the surrounding flesh using a single radiographic element for many orthopedic exam types.